The Minor Prophets Messengers for Today: The Jonah Syndrome

The Minor Prophets Messengers for Today: The Jonah Syndrome

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The book of Jonah demonstrates that God is a merciful and gracious God. Because of its wickedness, the city of Nineveh deserved to be destroyed. God was patient towards them and called Jonah to bring the message to that Assyrian city. When he first received the call from God, Jonah ran away.

•    In chapter 1, Jonah embarked on a ship headed for Tarshish. When the ship encountered a disastrous storm, Jonah confessed that his disobedience to the Lord was the cause of the storm.  The sailors then threw him into the sea. “And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (1:17).

•    Chapter 2-3, After God had the fish cough him up, three days later; Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh to fulfill his mission. Jonah preached a message of repentance and to his surprise and sorrow, the sinful city repented. “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them” (3:5).

•    In chapter 4, God dealt with Jonah and taught him about His love and compassion.[i] 

While we usually focus on the great fish swallowing Jonah, chapter 4 is the rest of the story.  Jonah, a successful evangelist, who preached a message that caused a sinful, jaded urban population to fall on their knees in repentance, was angry when the Lord spared Nineveh. After expressing his anger to the Lord, Jonah went out of the city and sat down to watch what would happen.  God prepared a large plant that grew quickly and sheltered Jonah through the night.  Jonah was thankful for the plant.  However, in the morning the Lord sent a worm that withered the plant and a wind that beat down on Jonah, withering his spirit and rousing his anger once again. 

Jonah 4:9-11 (NKJV): Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?"

And he said, "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!"
But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left--and much livestock?"

To we recognize the character of Jonah in ourselves? As we see so many evil situations and behaviors around us, do we let a spirit of anger overwhelm us to the point that we don’t want to see resolutions and repentance?  Are we reluctant to share the word of God’s love and mercy because we are afraid that people who are not on our “approved” list might show up in our church and in our vision of heaven?  Do we fall into the trap of calling names rather than discussing issues?  Are we resting on our “blessed assurances” and waiting for the Lord blow everything to “smithereens”?  Then we just might be afflicted with the “Jonah syndrome”.

The Lord is calling us to stand together for what is right in the power and peace of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  He is calling us to repentance for our negativity and our angry spirit.  He is calling us to declare the word of the Lord with our lips and to demonstrate His love and mercy in our lives. 

Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV)
¹  Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
²  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.

Make Me a Blessing

Ira Bishop Wilson

Out in the highways and byways of life,   Many are weary and sad; Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,   Making the sorrowing glad.
Make me a blessing, make me a blessing, Out of my life may Jesus shine; Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,   Make me a blessing to someone today.
Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,   Tell of His power to forgive; Others will trust Him if only you prove   True, every moment you live.
Give as ’twas given to you in your need,   Love as the Master loved you; Be to the helpless a helper indeed,   Unto your mission be true.

---

[i] http://biblehub.com/summary/jonah/1.htm

The Minor Prophets Messengers for Today: Obadiah

The Minor Prophets Messengers for Today: Obadiah

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Obadiah, whose name means “servant of the Lord, was submitted to God even when he was asked to step out of the realm of “political correctness” and bring a warning to those who had become the enemies of Israel. The book of Obadiah is God’s warning against the people of Edom.  Obadiah 1:2-4 (NKJV)  "Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down," says the LORD. “

We cry out in agreement, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you who seek to destroy Israel and, by extension of the covenant, to destroy the Church, the Bride of Christ.”

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob.  Esau and Jacob were the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham.  Remember the story in Genesis 25 where Esau sold his birthright to Isaac for a bowl of stew.  Genesis 25:33-34 (NKJV):  “Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Esau lived for the moment and gave up his spiritual blessings to satisfy his physical appetites.  The Edomites represent those who despise what God has given them and resent the blessing of God.  Esau’s discontent was generational.  His uncle and father-in-law Ishmael had earlier received a blessing from the Lord. Genesis 17:20 (NKJV) “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”  Yet, Ishmael despised his blessing and resented the covenant that the Lord made with Isaac.

God’s covenant was with Isaac and then Jacob, but he blessed Esau as well.  

 Speaking through the Spirit of God, Isaac blessed Esau.  Genesis 27:38-41 (NKJV) :  “And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me--me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck." So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

God promised that one day Esau would no longer be in servitude to Jacob.  Esau was unwilling to wait for the Lord’s promise to be fulfilled.  To this day, the descendents of Ishmael and Esau seek the destruction of Israel. Obadiah 1:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰  "For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.

As Christians, we are grafted into the covenant God has made with Israel.  It is important to note that we are grafted into the covenant.  We do not replace Israel in the covenant.  (Romans 11:11-18.) God’s promise is that Israel, and, therefore, the Church shall prevail.

God spoke at least two important truths through Obadiah.  The first is that His that, even though, His covenant is with Israel, His heart Is for all mankind.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus we can enter into His covenant. 

The second lesson that we must accept that God has a plan and a blessing for each of us.  We must learn to walk in our own blessing and not resent the blessing He has given to others. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Obadiah 1:21 (NKJV)
^“Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.”  Amen.

When we cling to the promises and blessings of God, not matter what Is happening in the world, we have a future and a hope.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

By Edward Mote

.              My hope is built on nothing less

               than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

               I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

               but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

               On Christ the solid rock I stand,

               all other ground is sinking sand;

               all other ground is sinking sand.

               When Darkness veils his lovely face,

               I rest on his unchanging grace.

               In every high and stormy gale,

               my anchor holds within the veil.

                

               His oath, his covenant, his blood

               supports me in the whelming flood.

               When all around my soul gives way,

               he then is all my hope and stay.

                

               When he shall come with trumpet sound,

               O may I then in him be found!

               Dressed in his righteousness alone,

               faultless to stand before the throne!

The Minor Prophets: Messengers for Today: Joel

The Minor Prophets:  Messengers for Today:  Joel

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Joel 2:1 (NKJV^{): "}Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand."

Joel 2:15-16 (NKJV):  "Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room."

The context of the book of Joel is a famine resulting from a plague of locust that had devoured the vegetation of Israel.  In the midst of the disaster, the Lord spoke words of warning through His prophet Joel.  The message is that unless God’s people repent, further disasters would come as enemy armies would devour the land. The day of the Lord’s judgment was coming. 

 

We are experiencing situations in our nation today that we know are calling forth the judgment of God.  Our locusts are spiritual, political and natural afflictions.  However, we want the judgment to come on the unrighteous, but forget the word of the Lord in 1 Peter 4:17 (NKJV): ^“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

It is time for judgment to begin at the house of God.   2 Chronicles 7:13-15 (NKJV):  “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  The operative words are “My people, who are called by My name.”  Healing of our land will begin with repentance in the prayer closet and move into the ballot box.

We can take our cue for that repentance from Joel 2:12-13 (NKJV): "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.  So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm."

Notice that the Lord does not say to gossip, to complain, to curse and to spread anger.  We are to come before Him in mourning both for our own sin and the sin of our nation.  Our fasting should be accordance with Isaiah 58:7-10 (MSG): “What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The GOD of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, GOD will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.”

When we believers walk more fully in the fruit of the Spirit, the words of Isaiah will be manifest in our lives. Isaiah 60:1-3 (NKJV):  “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles (unbelievers) shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” 

And the Lord says in Joel 2:25 (NKJV):  "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.”  

It is time to restore the years the locusts have eaten. That restoration begins with the repentant hearts of God’s people.  We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  True repentance involves changing our mindsets about the nature of our God and about who we are in Jesus Christ.

Lord God, You have blown Your trumpet through your prophets.  You have called me to fast and to repent. I come humbly before your throne and declare, “Lord, send restoration and let that restoration begin with me. Please, Lord, transform my thoughts to come into alignment with Yours.